How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 80 Capped Fountain Pen [Bonus Chapter for 4 Subscribers]

After Deng Wendi finished her transoceanic call, she glanced around and noticed that the people Wang Yao had invited had arrived and were chatting.

There were two women, one mature and one young. The mature woman had a good figure and looked like a working professional in her suit. The young woman was wearing a Korean-style school uniform and was very pretty, a different kind of beauty from the little girl named Naza from earlier in the day.

She didn't disturb her, but instead found Lee Boo-jung curled up on the sofa in a daze on the other side.

"What's wrong? Are you sleepy?" Deng Wendi sensed that she was a little out of sorts.

"If I have someone drown that kid in the river, won't that cause trouble?" Li Fuzhen asked through gritted teeth as she came to her senses.

"I told you not to mess with him, he's still just a child." Deng Wendi frowned, looking displeased.

“Him!” Lee Boo-jeong covered her neck, her face flushed, unsure how to refute.

How do you explain that the child has excellent candid photography skills?

Lee Eun-hye is the president of Lion Media, an entertainment agency. She has been in the entertainment modeling industry for nearly 20 years. She started as a model herself, but after her husband's company went bankrupt and they divorced, she started her own modeling agency.

Thanks to the network of contacts accumulated in the early years, as well as excellent communication skills and a business model that was willing to offer discounts, the company, although not achieving great success, was still thriving.

However, the money that intermediary companies can earn is very limited. In addition, the market environment has been good in recent years, and there are more and more intermediary companies on the market. Good talents are being driven up in price and caught in infighting. So, he started trying to transform into a legitimate entertainment company a couple of years ago.

Kim Ji-won was the first artist she placed great hopes on and nurtured. She received training in film, television, and music from middle school onwards. It is no exaggeration to say that she was her own daughter, with the aim of selling her at a good price.

Kim Ji-won is quite promising. Last year, she showed her acting talent in her first drama filming. Lee Eun-hye originally planned to spend a lot of money to arrange better resources for her this year.

However, she unexpectedly received a call from her partner company, Meishe, saying they wanted to invest in her company. Her company had been running for almost ten years, and this was the first time a legitimate company had offered to invest. The Korean entertainment industry was full of films that cheated people out of money and sex.

The reason why she trusted Meishe Company was mainly because they had been cooperating for many years. Although the resources of this multinational company were all from China, they paid generously, and the two sides had a pleasant cooperation. Moreover, Li Enhui really didn't want to wallow in the mire of Goryeo anymore.

It's too greasy and depressing.

So when she heard that he was an investor from China, she decided to meet and talk. Money was easy to make in China. If she could enter the Chinese market, she might be able to turn Kim Ji-won into an international star through export-to-domestic sales.

So she specially had Kim Ji-won wear a high school uniform, with only a base layer on her face, almost bare-faced, to show her most innocent state when meeting the investors.

But hearing the name Shilla Hotel still made her feel a chill.

What legitimate investor would meet at a hotel?

Fortunately, everyone in this industry isn't stupid. She had already prepared Kim Ji-won mentally, telling her that as long as she stayed in the Korean entertainment industry, this day would eventually come.

After all, opportunities don't just fall from the sky.

But when she arrived at the Shilla Hotel and met Secretary Kim, who was there to greet her, Lee Eun-hye's heart, which had cooled down, warmed up again.

She knew this woman!
President Kim, the head of the industry's top beauty chain, specializes in providing services to A-list celebrities and companies!

Her identity is no secret in the industry; she is the eldest princess of three stars.

The person who would get her to come forward, even if it wasn't Lee Boo-jung, must have been her friend or even a business partner.

She would never normally have the opportunity to come into contact with this level, so she was very aware of it.

Kim Ji-won's luck is really about to turn around!

However, when Li Enhui saw Wang Yao's overly superior and youthful face, her heart felt both cold and warm.

If this guy isn't Lee Boo-jung's gigolo, then Kim Ji-won's luck is truly off the charts.

Kim Ji-won had been so anxious and nervous that she had bitten her fingernails until they bled, but when she saw Wang Yao, she couldn't help but feel relieved and even somewhat inexplicably at ease. She stared blankly at the man of the same age who might decide her fate, lost in her own world.

"That's roughly the situation. If you're willing to be acquired, you might be merged into Li Rongyu's HiCC Media, where there will be internal resource sharing."
Moreover, most high-quality models have relatively stable online modeling jobs, as well as opportunities to film movies and TV series in China. Wang Yao briefly introduced the cooperation model and situation, and offered two options.

A full acquisition for 2 million Korean won (1 million Chinese yuan), or a combination of 100 million Korean won plus 5% stock options in the new company.

Lee Eun-hye's breathing quickened. Her company was definitely not worth 2 million, because the company only had one real contract, Kim Ji-won. The others were left to their own devices. The company's annual net profit could barely cover the investment in Kim Ji-won. In the past three years, the total investment was less than one million.

If she chooses the first option, she can recoup her costs immediately and obtain a stable salary and commission, allowing her to focus on using the company's money to develop Kim Ji-won. Although it doesn't feel as prestigious as being the company president, it would be more stable for her.

Choosing the second option, although you can only recover half of the cost, you can get shares. Judging from the tone, it's a company valued at 20 billion Korean won, which is almost a medium-sized company.

Tara, who debuted and became a sensation last year, has a company of about this size, and they also have Lee Yong-woo as their CEO, who is a truly talented and accomplished PD in the industry!
No matter which option you choose, you're unlikely to lose out.

Someone who has never had any luck will first be skeptical when faced with a windfall, and then try to rationalize it. Lee Eun-hye turned to look at Kim Ji-won, stood up and smiled, "Mr. Wang, please wait a moment, we're going to the restroom."

Wang Yao nodded.

"Girl, what do you think?" Lee Eun-hye pulled Kim Ji-won to the restroom, and after checking that no one was there, she asked, suppressing her excitement.

"Huh? President, I... what?" Kim Ji-won was flustered, her face turning as red as if it were about to bleed.

"This isn't the time to play dumb. This Mr. Wang is not only young, but also good-looking. Countless men would throw themselves at someone of his caliber. Besides, you two should be around the same age. I saw that he looked at you with great satisfaction. Just treat it as a relationship. Haven't you always wanted to be in one?" Li Enhui began to brainwash him.

Chi Ming had mentioned to her that Kim Ji-won was someone Wang Yao had specifically chosen, so she felt that Wang Yao most likely had his eye on Kim Ji-won and was investing in her company as well, because that would make sense.

She knew very well that her company had collaborated with at least fifty, if not a hundred, beauty photography studios, many of which were larger and had better models than hers, so there was no reason for her to choose them.

Therefore, this is the only reason that makes sense.

The key to success or failure lies with Kim Ji-won.

Kim Ji-won was so conflicted that she almost bit her lip until it bled.

"Alright, I won't force you. Take this. If he doesn't speak up later, you can choose for yourself. But if he does, Ji-won, the future of your sister and the company is in your hands." Lee Eun-hye stuffed a bill into Kim Ji-won's hand.

The first thing she did upon entering the hotel was to book a room, just in case anything went wrong. At least the room she booked could guarantee Kim Ji-won's safety.

Holding the matte black room key, Kim Ji-won seemed to be holding a piece of icy ice, and followed Lee Eun-hye out in a daze, like a puppet on a string.

After Lee Eun-hye took Kim Ji-won outside, she saw Wang Yao chatting with two other women.

“The tall one is the wife of a global media tycoon, and the other one is the eldest princess of our three Korean stars. Your decision could make you like them, or it could make you an ordinary person for the rest of your life. Even if you become like Jun Ji-hyun or Jun Do-yeon, you will still be an ordinary person.” Lee Eun-hye’s voice was filled with complex emotions.

It seemed like envy, resentment, and even more so, unwillingness.

Kim Ji-won had never seen a president like this before, but when Deng Wendi and Li Fuzhen left with a group of waiters, the queen-like scene truly shattered the last shred of rationality in this young girl.

"President Li, Miss Jin, it's getting late. You can think about it at your leisure when you get back," Wang Yao said with a smile as he stood up and walked over.

It's almost time. Mom has set a time for her to come home, and she'll be urging her to come soon.

“Mr. Wang.” Li Enhui’s smile froze. Just as she was about to explain, everything went black before her eyes.

Kim Ji-won's slender and tall figure blocked her view, preventing her from seeing their expressions and movements.

But one thing is certain: soon only she and the waitress at the elevator entrance remained in the huge, luxurious private room, she murmured.

"Ji-won, you'll thank your sister."

Wang Yao sold Kim Ji-won a capped fountain pen and received 10 won in cash from her.

Perhaps because the pen was new, the cap and pen were not properly matched for the first time. Wang Yao twisted it for a long time before finally forcing it in.

However, due to the mismatch, the impact was too great and the shock-absorbing rubber pad on the pen cap was almost punctured, and the glue almost immediately leaked out of the cap.

Kim Ji-won was using a fountain pen for the first time and didn't realize that a mismatch between the cap and the pen would make it so difficult to erase, nor did she understand the close relationship between the friction, hardness, size, and shape of the grip and the writing feel.

Wang Yao patiently guided her for a while before she gradually got used to writing with a fountain pen.

Why can a fountain pen write so smoothly? Unlike a ballpoint pen, it doesn't have a ball that can roll freely and continuously carry ink as it rotates, nor does it rely on the powder that comes off when the lead rubs against the paper to leave marks, unlike a pencil.

A fountain pen mainly consists of a nib, a feed, and an ink sac. The ink sac stores ink and is evenly delivered to the nib through the feed. The fins around the feed also help to store ink and prevent the nib from running dry.

The nib of the pen, which is responsible for writing, has a slit in the middle. Ink seeps out from here through capillary action and falls onto the paper to write.

Kim Ji-won has average learning ability, but she is very studious. She would fall asleep from exhaustion after studying for a while.

Wang Yao left politely, and it was almost 2 a.m. when he got home.

I'm studying too hard.

　The average daily value has broken 1000 for the first time.

　　Thank you all for your support and encouragement.

　　An extra chapter!
　　Four days of over 4 words of updates, I'm burning the candle at the end!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)